It’s only 28 miles down Colorado Highway 135 from Crested Butte to Gunnison. But based on mountain biking notoriety, you’d think Gunnison was half way to the moon away. While Crested Butte is revered as one of the world’s great mountain bike destinations, Gunnison remains a Centennial State secret. But the town’s Hartman Rocks Recreation Area has 40 miles of flowing singletrack worthy of adding to your bucket list. Gunnison locals Dave Wiens (six-time Leadville 100 champ), Brian St. George (field office manager for the Gunnison Bureau of Land Management) and Jim Dirksen (56-year-old longtime Gunnison resident and rider) explain.

Brian St. George: Length of season. Some Crested Butte trails can be snowed in to June or even July sometimes. We’re usually open by March or April, and go all the way into October, sometimes later.

Dave Wiens: We’re at the opposite end of the spectrum. Crested Butte has long high-alpine climbs; Gunnison has classic desert riding with lots of technical singletrack.

Jim Dirksen: I love that you can see where you’re coming from and where you’re going. You’re not in the woods. You’re out in the open. There are places where you can see for 100 miles on a clear day.

What’s the can’t miss trail?

DW: There’s no one trail. It’s the whole Hartman system. By themselves the trails are pretty short, but when you link them together you can do a 4-5 hour ride with very little re-tracing.

JD: It’s definitely the whole system (PDF). The climbs are not too long, and everything is very rideable. The trick is knowing the area well enough to be able to link the trails and connectors without stopping to look at your map all the time. If you don’t know the trails, find someone who does and follow them.

Describe the riding.

BSG: Magic—especially after some moisture. The trails drain really well, so they get really tacky.

DW: When you get a little rain, it’s like powder day because the traction gets so good. Evenings are also amazing. You get the late day light with those long shadows, and it’s a little cooler.

Best race?

DW: The Original Growler. Happens in late May. It’s our fourth year coming up. We sold out all 300 spots last year. It’s a mass-start race that takes in almost all the Hartman trails, so it’s a 32-mile loop that’s about 25 miles of singletrack. You can do one lap or the full two-lap race. Last year’s two-lap winner took about 5.5 hours. The event is a fundraiser for our local trail association.

Best bike?

DW: For me it’s a hardtail. There’s quite a bit of slickrock, so I don’t want a lot of mush. But there are also a few freeride style trails that are direction-specific and are really technical.

BSG: You see a lot of singlespeeds, too. Because the trails are shorter, you can come out for 1-2 hours and really work it.

JD: Almost everything is under 10 percent grade, so it’s all very rideable. On a geared bike, I can middle ring whole thing. There is a lot of really fast sections with amazing flow.